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Healthcare delivery + availability crisis in North Carolina
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: Sep 29, 2023 | Replies (9)Comment receiving replies
I'm sorry you are going through this. Unfortunately your story is far from unique.
This is happening weekly, all across the country. For profit health care stepped into gaps over the past several years, and now, as it becomes obvious to them that with caps on Medicare and insurance payments and rising costs, that the profits aren't there, closures are rising.
At the same time, small market/small town and rural providers cannot compete on salary and benefits, so are faced with severe staff shortages. To compensate, they hire travelling nurses, docs, techs... paying roughly 2-3 times what it would cost for permanent staff. When reserves are depleted, these small facilities are yet one more casualty of our system in crisis.
And after 3-4 years of short tenure and uncertain future, the lure of higher pay is beginning to fade for the travelers and their families. This doesn't even take into account the lack in continuity of care, the resentment of permanent staff for the "temps" making twice as much as they are and able to choose their shifts, turn down overtime, and move on whenever they want.
To everyone thinking of moving to chase better care - the crisis is everywhere! The shortage of care is everywhere. We are in a medical Eden, with medical schools, teaching hospitals and Mayo all within an easy commute, we have excellent insurance, and we have the same problem with access, long waits, and staff turnover as others here are reporting.
Great minds are needed to find the solution.
Sue
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Thank you for the reality check. I didn't know. It's pretty dark of a picture for our country.
Matter of fact, I had not heard of 'Traveling Doctors" before. Nurses, techs etc, yes. But not Docs. Something feels very cringy about that for some reason.
I'm speculating without much deliberation that universal managed care w rationing is what is going to enter in. We already have informal rationing by virtue of extended appointment times of 8 plus months out for endocrinology, neurology and other specialties.
I'm overall pretty unhappy with many unexpected realities. This is not the retirement I envisioned or planned for. I had only a few simple medical problems before COVID. I had allergies, minor disc. I didn't take any prescriptions. I have BRAC1 but just believed/knew I would be ok with just great healthy lifestyle. I was thankfully correct in that. So as a single retired woman, I felt confident relocating. Then soon after came COVID + I contacted COVID.....twice. The dominos went into motion. I have many significant + disabling medical problems now for the first time. And now I don't have the services. The irony of it all.
Who my heart goes out to the most are the exceptionally talented specialists who had the ideal medical practices they ventured out to establish on their own when corporate-dictated medicine was
too much patient- compromised care for them. They offered what medicine should be. They are the ones who couldn't endure. They are the ones w the true talent. And compassion. And dignity. At least 6 are sitting at home. Master surgeons for complex cases. And personable people with patients too. And one brilliant Psychiatrist. Perhaps there are more. I wish there was a just solution. I would work as a volunteer to my capability if it would help. It's heartbreaking to see great doctors unable to do what they do.